listen
ˈlɪsən
Your Ears Are Already Open — So Why LISTEN?
The picture You turn your head and lean slightly toward where the sound is. You are not waiting for it to arrive; you are carrying your ear over to it. HEAR is sound arriving at your ear by itself; LISTEN is turning your ear toward the sound.
Where the picture shows up in listen
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ear turned toward it
I listen to the news while I drive.
aɪ ˈlɪsən tuː ðə njuːz waɪl aɪ draɪv
I catch the news on the way to work.
Sitting with your head tilted toward the radio.
listen usually takes to.
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take the words in and follow
You should listen to your doctor.
juː ʃʊd ˈlɪsən tuː jɔːr ˈdɒktər
Do what the doctor tells you.
Catching the words from someone's mouth and turning your body that way.
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turn attention here
Listen, we need to talk about the schedule.
ˈlɪsən wiː niːd tuː tɔːk əˈbaʊt ðə ˈʃedjuːl
Hey — we should talk about the schedule.
A raised hand swinging someone's ear around to face you.
Listen at the start of a sentence = look this way for a second.
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ear held out for a sound
Listen for the beep, then press the button.
ˈlɪsən fɔːr ðə biːp ðen pres ðə ˈbʌtən
Wait for the beep, then press the button.
An ear placed in advance where a sound has not happened yet.
listen for = keep an ear out for something.
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here to take it in
Go ahead, I'm listening.
ɡoʊ əˈhed aɪm ˈlɪsənɪŋ
Go on, I'm with you.
Body turned toward the speaker, ear left open, waiting.
All of it in one picture
LISTEN is an ear aimed at something. Aim it at music and you get enjoying it; aim it at a person's words and you get taking their advice; make someone else swing their ear toward you and you get "listen, …"; aim it at a sound that has not come yet and you get waiting for it. So wherever listen appears, someone has deliberately put an ear where the sound is.